It was the last opportunity for many players to state their cases before the club’s newest designated players are available and reinforcements are found.

And the match played out that way.

An odd starting eleven saw Alan Gordon and Javier Martina swap spots with Martina playing the point and Gordon dropping slightly behind. Although the pair swapped places midway through the match, it might be an indication of where Gordon fits alongside Danny Koevermans in a few weeks.

Additionally, with Julian de Guzman out with knee issues, Winter decided to play without a holding midfielder, leaving Nathan Sturgis out of the team. Although it proved costly when Houston’s Danny Cruz took advantage of the massive gap that routinely opened between TFC’s defenders and midfielders, it was an opportunity for Winter to see which attacking players will sit ahead of Torsten Frings.

Winter’s adamant discussion on TFC’s continuous player search will most likely yield a steady back four for the first time in months. After serving a suspension due to yellow card accumulation, the prospects of a new centreback would see Richard Eckersley replace Dan Gargan on the right and might see a complete reconfiguration depending on who the club decides to move.

“I’m going to trade players,” Winter told the club’s website after the loss. “We have a lack of quality.”

The Dutchman’s post-match remarks ignited a discussion on what the Reds should give up for a quality player within the league.

To be as blunt as Winter, a scarcity of resources makes the idea of trading players complicated in that a host of injuries and poor performances has left very little in terms of trade bait.

But after acquiring the New York Red Bulls’ first-round pick in a trade that saw Dwayne De Rosario shipped out, TFC has the option of including a potential lottery pick with any player swap.

As mentioned, the decision to sit Sturgis in de Guzman’s absence was puzzling. Does an abundance of central players in a cluttered three-man system leave Sturgis on the trading block? His realistic salary and battle-tested experience might appear appetizing to a playoff club that is looking for insurance.

Winter’s decision to yank Danleigh Borman in the second half for Gianluca Zavarise points to another situation where an abundance of left-sided players makes the South African a sensible player to move.

As the addition of Frings could push Mikael Yourassowsky back to the left side of defence, Winter’s decision to pull Borman on the weekend and drop Yourassowsky behind Joao Plata shows that Borman is an expendable option the Reds could look to trade.

The question remains whether the Reds have enough quality on their current roster to receive anything of real value in return. Toronto has to be willing to give in order to receive and TFC’s most coveted commodity might fetch a quality outfield player.

Widely regarded as the league’s top ’keeper, Stefan Frei is a player the Reds should move for the right offer. While the idea of trading away TFC’s top player is commonly met with disillusion, the Reds are desperately in need of a dominant central defender and must consider all options.

With Eckersley suspended for TFC’s next league match, Winter’s public trade talk needs to come to fruition.

AROUND THE PITCH

It’s intriguing when foreign managers come to MLS and are compelled to learn the ins and outs of major league drafts and salary caps. To that extent, it’s somewhat refreshing to hear that Winter is looking to utilize movement within the league in an effort to right the ship … Saturday’s loss brought TFC’s road winless streak to double digits. Since winning at D.C. United on the final day last season, the Reds have gone 10 consectuive league road matches without securing three points … While we’re on the subject, D.C. United picked up a win at Red Bull Arena Saturday night. How appropriate that De Rosario bagged the winner against the club that traded him for the second time this season … It shouldn’t go unmentioned that De Rosario became the first player in league history to score a goal with three different teams in one season … Two road games seemingly grounded any momentum TFC created last week. After falling 5-0 and 2-0 on the road, Frei singled out the only positive from the past two matches: “You can say they are over.” … And the numbers back up that sentiment. Toronto has just one win from 12 games, an absurd 36 goals-against and a forgettable 18 points through 21 matches.

PARTING THOUGHTS

To the surprise of nobody, no Reds were named to the initial 2011 MLS all-star roster that was released during Sunday’s Timbers-Sounders broadcast.

Seven of the First XI hail from the Red Bulls or Galaxy and no players from the Vancouver Whitecaps made the initial list.

It remains to be seen if any of TFC’s players will be honoured as all-star reserves ahead of the match against Manchester United on July 27 in New York, but with TFC taking on Real Esteli in Champions League action that night, it’s safe to say no Reds will be named to the team for the first time in franchise history.